


Blue Eyes, Bloody Knuckles

by orphan_account



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Badass!Rhys, F/M, Good Dad!Jack, M/M, Minor Character Death, angst is here, more tags to add as needed, people get hurt, takes him some time though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-05 07:25:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11573229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Despite their numerous differences, there were only two things Rhys and Jack shared in common; blue eyes and bloody knuckles.HIATUS UNTIL I CAN FINISH MY OTHER FIC





	1. Never get drunk, kids

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! This is my first borderlands fic and to enter this fandom I've written up some Rhack! This is mainly plot and might seem a bit slow at first, but I promise things work themselves out. So, without further adew, here is Blue Eyes, Bloody Knuckles!

One hour, thirty-six minutes, and fifty-four seconds since the three arrived in the bar. It’s only been one hour, thirty-six minutes, and fifty-four seconds since Vaughn ordered his first shot of tequila. It did not, however, take him one hour, thirty-six minutes, and fifty-six seconds to get drunk. That only took him an hour.

Ever since Rhys sat down beside his best friend and saw the tension drop from his shoulders when he took his first sip the man knew this night would end shortly. For an hour Rhys sat with Vaughn, listening to his angry rant about work and continue ordering drinks from the bartender whenever his glass just barely reached half full. When Yvette arrived, late as always with the regular know-it-all confidence radiating off her formally dressed figure, Vaughn was lying on the table piss drunk. 

She just simply arched an eyebrow, Rhys mouthing a ‘don’t ask’ to her in reply, and sat down on the cushions across the two depressed men. He was not in the mood to rehear Vaughn’s rant and he knew Yvette wouldn’t be either. Tonight was just not the night especially when his job was currently being thought over. Ordering himself another peach moon with orange juice and toying around with his ECHOeye, he started looking over some newly sent in paperwork about the latest job only to be stopped when a manicured hand snapped through the blue holographic picture.

“Rhys, relax. This is the first time in what? Two weeks? Three?” Rhys couldn’t help eyeing Yvette’s nails, noticing just how they were painted violet and matched her newly bought necklace. The woman always had money to spend, but what he expect from someone working in Hyperion?

“Two in a half.” He corrected and consciously ran a hand back through his nicely combed hair, not giving two shits anymore. Rhys was away from work where if you didn’t have a waist long tie, presentable hair that literally would not fall apart even if a skag made a nest with it, and a thick stick up the ass you were kicked out along with your stuff.

“Exactly. Look, Vaughn’s relaxing,” as Yvette said this their mutual friend raised his empty shot glass, cheeks a fuming red and hair a bit messy from all his constant head turning. “A bit too much.”

“You should’ve seen him before you arrived. Every five seconds he was calling the bartender for another drink and it got to the point where he was given the entire bottle,” Rhys proceeded to gesture towards the almost drained bottle resting beside Vaughn’s sleeved arm, the accountant now lying his full face on the table. He wasn’t unconscious he was just… To be completely honest neither of them knew what in the hell he was doing. Vaughn was just lying there, eyes intently staring downwards at a loose nail on the floorboards and cheeks glowing with color. 

Rhys let his eyes roll towards the clock. One hour, forty-two minutes, and twenty-three seconds. As he noted the time Rhys made a mental note to update his ECHOeye settings when he got home, his cybernetics getting the time just behind by five seconds. “We should be leaving soon anyways.”

“I just got here!” The woman shook the martini in her hands a bit, sipping the clear liquid and raising an eyebrow over the glass’s rim. It’s not like he wanted to go it was that he had to go. When Vaughn got drunk the man became unreasonable and his ego grew tremendously, Rhys remembering the constant college parties that got ruined when Vaughn used his sharp tongue and talked the wrong people off which resulted in Rhys ushering him out of a fight. Ever since the two left college Vaughn lightened up with the drinking, but when times got tough (and things were most certainly tough with Vaughn losing the job he had just gotten two months ago) his need for a drink returned. Yvette didn’t know all this, the woman meeting them both in the workplace, and so she just shrugged when she saw how persistent Rhys was being. “You better pay then.”

“Of course,” he flashed her a quick smile, letting out a long breath that followed. This was when things would get hard. “Vaughn, bro, it’s time to leave.” Grabbing his suit jacket, Rhys tied the fabric around his hips and took his friend’s satchel around his neck. Vaughn barely stirred from his trance, swatting away Rhys’s hand when he tried grabbing him.

“Five more minutes. I’m allllmost about to win,” the thick framed glasses slipped down his nose some, Vaughn narrowing his eyes towards the nail. Letting out a long, heavy sigh, Rhys firmly grabbed hold of his best friend’s arm and started tugging him away from the booth. “Rhysie, no! No no no no!” Taking the personality of a child, Vaughn began throwing a fit and thrashing about while his legs dragged along the booth’s cushions. A few others in the bar eyed the two friends, Rhys feeling his own cheeks heat up in pure embarrassment. When he glanced towards Yvette she was one step ahead, already up from her sitting position and moving a few tables away from Rhys so he could continue dragging Vaughn out without tripping.

“Sorry about leaving so early. I’ll make it up to you sometime this weekend. Lunch?” Rhys always found himself apologizing for another’s behavior, an old habit that never died throughout the years.

“I’ll visit your place sometime instead. You guys need the money.” This was one of the first times Yvette even thought of the two’s financial problem, Rhys flashing her a grateful smile only for it to drop when he heard a very annoyed groan rise up from the man hanging on his arms.

“Bro, I need you to use your legs,” Rhys said through gritted teeth, ignoring the Vaughn’s fidgeting and constant tugging on his mechanical arm that really didn’t need the extra touching. It was already in dire need of maintenance. “C’mon, bro, the faster we get home the faster you can start marathoning your shows,” the mention of catching up on  _ Keeping Up With The Hammerlocks _ made Vaughn jump up onto his feet. The sudden movement knocked Rhys back, Rhys preparing himself for impact with the ground. Only the impact wasn’t with the wooden floors that smelt of dirty feet and sun heated alcohol. No, Rhys found his back bumping into something firm and feeling hands grasp onto his hips. 

When he peeked over his shoulder both eyes grew wider by the seconds, Rhys finding himself being held on by another man who was just staring down at his slumped figure. Following the stranger’s stare, Rhys swallowed down a lump in his throat when he saw the man’s drink was spilled all over his clothes. “Oh- oh, shit, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t-” he started standing, practically dancing around the fallen glass and reaching out to dust off the stranger’s clothes then remembering you can’t dust off liquid so he pulled his hand back sharply. “I’ll buy you a new drink and, hell, I’ll pay for the dry cleaning I just- I am so, so sorry about this.” The apologies just kept tumbling out from his mouth, Rhys trying to ignore the tingling feeling left on his hips.

He didn’t even realize when a chin rested on his shoulder, Vaughn lazily blinking over his shoulder towards the very handsome man eyeing his soaked dress shirt. What Rhys didn’t expect was the heterochromatic eyed stranger to roll his shoulders in a slight shrug, licking some stray alcohol off his thumb and then fixing his slightly messed up hair.

“It’s alright. I think I may take you up on that drink offer, though.” There was a smirk on the other man’s face, the look alone sending Rhys’s heart on a pounding adventure.

“Oh, look at Rhysie getting some action,” it was Vaughn who beat Rhys to the reply, wiggling his eyebrows and then jabbing a thumb in the other’s direction. “But him? Really? You're gettin’ worked up over that? Hell, there were guys in my department better lookin’ than that.”

“Vaughn.” Rhys hissed the name towards the shorter man, wishing he would just shut his mouth. Usually, it was Vaughn playing wingman. The sober Vaughn would’ve been all for this, pushing Rhys right into the stranger’s arms and making sure nothing too extreme happened. But drunk Vaughn? That was a different story and even Yvette could tell things were not going to end well.

“Like seriously I am getting this like ‘rich asshole with the vibrator up the ass’ vibe from ‘im and I meaaaaan I don’t judge lifestyles but-” before Vaughn continue on with his drunken ramble, Rhys clamped a hand over his mouth. He pulled his hand away when it got licked. “Why the hell does your hand taste salty? Are you sweating this much?” He gave the taller man a questionable look as if he wasn’t just ruining the chances Rhys ever had with hooking up with someone. The fear in Rhys grew more when he saw a larger, bulkier man start heading up and stood just beside the stranger. 

“Vaughn, bro, I really think we should go now-”

“Who are you? A fucking… Loaderbot? Yeah yeah! A Loaderbot who had sex with an older, uglier Loaderbot.” The insult that came from Vaughn’s lips made the whole bar fall silent, literally. There was not a single sound that came from any barstool or any booth, everyone watching the four with wide eyes. Rhys quickly took off the satchel around his neck and handed it to a passing Yvette, the woman already rushing towards his car for a quick getaway. He was brought back into the dangerous situation when the larger man started growling, Rhys noticing his hands curl into fists.

“I’ll handle this.” His voice was low, directed towards the handsome stranger next to him who was simply drinking from a forgotten drink left on a table.

“Mmm, don’t hurt them too much. I don’t need this spreading around and I don’t need the pretty one losing any attractive aspects.” He stepped back, Rhys swallowing down a lump and just now realizing that Vaughn was stepping in front of him.

“Are we gonna fight now?” Before Rhys could even stop Vaughn a vest was being thrown into his arms, the shorter man undoing a few buttons of his shirt and getting into a fighting position. In college, the accountant took a few after school kick boxing classes, but comparing that to all the passing years of just doing nothing besides playing video games and eating potato chips zeroed out any of his training. “Bring it, robohead!” When the larger man threw a punch with his cybernetic hand everything seemed to fall in slow motion. 

Vaughn must’ve ducked under the punch with god-like reflexes because the man’s fist came in contact with Rhys’s face, knocking him backward. His mouth flew open in a silent cry when the back of his head collided with a table’s edge, ass awkwardly hitting the ground and the rest of his body following. Everything was dead silent like the silent after the family of a passed love one enters the funeral or when a late student enters a classroom. It was an eerie, unwanted silence where not even a whisper passed. After what felt like an eternity he felt hands grasping onto him, shaking him out from the silence and into the world of noise. His name was being repeated over and over again by different voices, the voices keeping his brain awake and out from the temptation of sleep. The hands moved from his shoulders up towards his head, Rhys letting out a pained scream when he felt something gently press against his cheek.

That’s when his past came back, Rhys finding himself in that very similar position all those years again. In fear of opening his eyes to see just what he’s been trying to forget, he stiffened his body against its aches of pain and started clinging onto the nearest thing. It was a shirt, a fairly sticky shirt that Rhys only clung tighter to. He needed something- anything to just remind him of where he was. More stray tears slipped down his closed eyes, down his most likely red cheeks and Rhys could feel his left cheek was stinging.

“I can’t believe you!” The voices started becoming clearer, Rhys recognizing this particularly loud voice as Yvette. She always did get loud when she got worried.

“I didn’t- shit how- what are we-” in came Vaughn’s confused and worried voice, the once drunken slur lost. Rhys edged closer into the source of warmth beside him, desperately trying to escape the cold bits of falling snow that fell on his skin. Wait, when did he get outside?

“Everyone just calm the fuck down he won’t die,” more cold air hit him. “You guys can follow along I’ll keep an eye on the kid.” He bit back a cry when the warmth left him, Rhys feeling something hold onto his shoulder and something tight wound itself over his chest. A seatbelt. The sound of a door closing sounded beside him, the man finally willing his eyes open despite all his fears. He had to know what was going on. He looked past the foggy windows to find Yvette tapping away on her foot, Vaughn throwing up over the curb and having his back be patted by the taller man who had guilt written all over his face. That’s when he saw the handsome stranger appear into view, gesturing back towards the car holding Rhys and then pointing up Northwest.

When his head started spinning Rhys closed both eyes, constantly screaming ‘no’ in his head as the bile in his throat started building up. Unable to hold it anymore, all that night’s alcohol and food were tossed out over himself and the car. Rhys coughed up some leftover vomit that stung his throat, hunched forward, and finally let his body submit into unconsciousness. It would just be a few seconds, he told himself when his tense shoulders began laxing, so he could apologize later to his friends without vomiting again or bursting out into painful screams. 

But those seconds turned into minutes and then into hours.


	2. Come over here, I'll gnaw your legs off!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys tries to escape a shitload of embarrassment and instead gets a headache.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you sound like a robot, but annoying at the same time?  
> also in this AU echo's are like modern day phones

Waking up was Rhys’s favorite past time. Every morning the brunette found himself waking up at 5:30 in the morning every time, greeting a groggy Vaughn with freshly cooked eggs and bacon. He enjoyed the early showers he’d take, singing lightly to the music playing from his echo and make shitty impersonations of people he knew in the foggy mirror afterward. Sometimes, if he woke up early enough, he’d lie on the couch and start tinkering on his own cybernetics with some modifications that he never tried out that night before.

This morning was the worst morning Rhys has had in awhile. He awoke to an annoying voice practically screaming in his ear, Rhys pushing his face further into the fluffy pillow and away from the voice. His attempt obviously didn’t work because something cold jabbed into his bare shoulder, the male groaning out in response. Growing annoyed, he used a nearby pillow and smacked the thing who woke him from his blissful sleep. A loud, shocked scream echoed beside him that was followed by an anticlimactic clank when they hit the floor. Snuggling back into the pillow, Rhys began dozing off again when his brain made the connection; people, when they hit the floor, don’t clank. Raising his head up and blinking away the sleep in his eyes, he peeked over the bed’s edge. Lying on the floor was a bot, a CL4P-TP unit to be specific, rocking back and forth on his rectangular back.

His frown curled upwards in curiosity, Rhys watching the CL4P-TP give up and let his metal arms fall slack against his sides. The bot was in dire need of repainting, his once bright yellow coating now faded and chipping away near his wheel while the white streak across his middle seemed grayer than the original color choice used. His wheel also seemed worn, the tire making a squeaky noise whenever it rolled. When he saw Rhys’s staring both arms flew up towards him, awkwardly waving around and the circular plate used for an eye started flickering with a blue light.

“Human! You are awake!” There was that annoying voice again that made Rhys’s frown return.

“Yeah… Yeah, yeah I’m awake,” as if trying to convince himself, Rhys reached over and grabbed one of the outstretched arms. Without really using much strength, he pulled the CL4P-TP unit up and on it’s wheel. After making sure it wouldn’t fall again, Rhys fell back on the bed with his sore arms tugging his sheet up and over his chin. This had to be a dream. “Goodnight again, then.”

“You cannot go back to sleep! I have been given specific orders that you are to be brought down the moment you awake. Come, human, we go!” Using his metal clamps to grasp onto the sheet, Rhys shot up once again when his source of warmth was removed. The CL4P-TP unit continued rolling towards the door until it got it’s wheel tripped over the sheet and fell forward. “Help me! I have fallen and I cannot get up!”

“Before I help you up I’ve got some questions,” Rhys started glancing around the room, noting that this wasn’t his. He was pretty certain about this discovery when he saw a fucking fireplace sitting on the other side of the wall and a giant ass window with a balcony beside him. “What’s your name?”

“My name is CL4P-TP, but my friends call me Claptrap!” Claptrap said this all too cheerily, his arms moving up and down along the floorboards as if trying to express himself.

“I thought your product line was discontinued? Something about not being a compatible companion?” After Hyperion started gaining more money all CL4P-TP were ‘discontinued’ and the scrapped parts were used towards their freshly made bots, these new bots being used for more business than companionship besides the one Rhys stole that now lives in his apartment. Claptrap scoffed at this, ranting on about how ‘I am the best companion there is’ and how ‘no one here seems to complain’ which Rhys knew couldn’t be true if the owner of said bot didn’t keep up his maintenance. “Anyways, where am I?” 

Scratching the back of his head, Rhys winced when his fingers brushed a bandage and his thumb pressed too hard on a sensitive area. Curiously, he let his fingers follow the bandage cloth that wrapped around his forehead and covered a fairly average portion of his upper head.

“You didn’t know after coming in here all drunk last night? Wow, I guess Jack really must’ve gotten busy-”

“Who the hell is Jack?” Rhys could feel his own cheeks heat up when he realized his shirt and pants was gone, the brunette more than thankful his boxers were still on. It still didn’t ease his nerves, though. When Claptrap let out a loud, obnoxious sigh Rhys couldn’t handle it anymore. “Look, forget my question. Can you just show me where my clothes are and where the exit is?” Activating his ECHOeye, it pained him when multiple beeps from unread messages started ringing through both ears. The messages were sent by both Vaughn and Yvette, the majority of them asking the same thing; are you alright? This only made him worry more, Rhys’s memories from the night before still fuzzy and out of order. For certain he knew Vaughn got drunk and he got punched, but he couldn’t figure out which came first or what happened after.

“I’m not certain Jack-”

“Jack is like super ok with this. I’m like his best bro and he wanted you to bring me down to… To escort me out, yeah! But you see, Claptrap, I’m gonna be late and I don’t need to create more problems for myself…” He flat out lied on the spot, his years of working in multiple businesses where he had to suck up his pride and lie to get around proving useful. While answering his friend’s text messages with a simple ‘yes, I’m alright don’t worry’ he started grimacing when he saw just how late it was. But he knew there was no time for introductions or properly figuring out just what happened. If he didn’t get home soon who knew what would happen here. “I’m sure you’d have no problem opening the door out, right?” 

This excited Claptrap, Rhys remembering his senior year in college where the programming students got a hands-on experience with their own CL4P-TP unit. Everyone grew very irritated by the damn things, but it was Rhys who figured out how they worked the quickest and seeing just how naive they are. Grabbing a random pair of pants off the floor that seemed just a tad too large for him, Rhys lifted Claptrap up from the floor and dusted him off. “My name is Rhys, by the way.”

“And I’m Claptrap-”

“I know,” even though Claptrap was annoying as shit and probably dumber than a skag’s brain he couldn’t help smiling. It was just hard to not smile when Claptrap started wheeling away towards the door with this little wobbly that reminded Rhys of when he first got Loader Bot. His smile was wiped away when the bot failed in opening said door and started making lame excuses. “Hang on I got it. Just be very quiet, ok?” Rhys knew that being quiet was not in the bot’s coding, but he hoped it’d get the hint and just talk quietly if anything. Luckily for him, the door made no noise when being opened, no creak or drag across the carpet being a problem because it seemed the house had no carpet. Creeping out with the cold floor sending shivers through his bare feet, Rhys followed along the wheeling Claptrap who led him towards what appeared to be the living room.

“Claptrap, is that you?” An oddly familiar voice called from their right, Rhys ducking behind a nearby couch as Claptrap let out a scream. His heart was pounding nonstop, his ECHOeye buzzing with more unread messages from mainly Vaughn just apologizing profoundly. He kept swiping the messages away, afraid the faint blue light being cast on the white wall would give his position away. “Is the kid awake yet? It’s almost nine o’clock and I’m getting just a bit annoyed I can’t use my bed.” This new information made Rhys’s cheeks flush, the brunette glancing down at the ‘borrowed’ pants he was currently wearing.

“A- ah well you see about th- that,” Claptrap was the worst liar in the existence of liars. His digital voice was stuttering madly, but Rhys had to admit even though his product line was created to specifically not lie it was a nice idea knowing he was trying. Trying, however, would not save him from major embarrassment and the dizzy feeling his head was bringing him. All the adrenaline made Rhys forget about being punched, his hand constantly scratching his left cheek which was a nervous habit of his; scratching. “He- he um...”

“Just spit it out already you know I don’t have time for this,” the man’s voice grew with irritation by the second, but it was all replaced with worry when there was a crash in the kitchen. “Angel, what’s that sound?”

“Nothing, Dad! Just- shit- don’t worry about it!” A young girl’s voice called from inside the kitchen, footsteps treading away and Rhys peeked over the couch just in time to see the house owner’s back disappear around the corner. He could see in the kitchen a girl just about the age of fifteen, black hair held in a shoulder draped braid and a sauce dripping wooden spoon being held in her hands, rocking back and forth in her fuzzy socks. When the two made eye contact Rhys knew it was time to leave, the brunette grabbing onto the stunned Claptrap unit and darting towards where he guessed the front door was.

“Hey, I need you to take care of this for me,” he knelt down beside the door and noticed all the different security measures outside along with a locked gate. Claptrap immediately began working, chatting off his new friend’s ear while Rhys grabbed the smallest adult sized coat off a hook. When the front door open he slipped out, forgetting completely about the bot following after him. “Ah! Claptrap, shit, I need you to stay here,” when he suddenly stopped Claptrap drove right into his leg. “Just don’t tell them I left, ok? Ok, thanks!” Without waiting for an answer, he patted Claptrap’s flat head and took off through the now opened gate. Pulling up his ECHOeye, he dialed up Vaughn’s number that was answered before the first ring could go off.

“ _ Rhys! I am so, so sorry bro- _ ”

“Hey, sorry but I need to cut you off,” Rhys used the open space in his vision to have Loader Bot send him a digital map, noticing that he was walking in one of the richest areas on Pandora and trying to hide embarrassment from other people who eyed the bare footed man. “I’m over by that really, really fancy restaurant and-”

“ _ The one where Yvette actually bought us food for once? _ ” As if reading his mind Vaughn started leaving the apartment, the familiar unlocking noise of the front door making Rhys  smile with how fast his friend reacted. Shifting around in the coat he wore that was surprisingly warm, he sat down on the curb outside the restaurant and pulled the sleeves over his cold hands.

“Yeah, that one. I’m by the curb so I’ll see you then,” with that he hung up, his left cheek throbbing with numb pain and the back of his head causing him to get a headache. His attention was brought back to the coat when he felt something press against his side, fishing through the pocket and finding an echo. It wasn’t his echo, Rhys could tell that much just by looking over the expensive thing that probably cost more than his life. That’s when he made the connection in his head and started cursing. Not only did he just leave without saying a word and stole the guy’s clothes he now just stole his echo! “Damnit.” He cursed under his breath, pulling his legs close and resting his forehead atop the knees with hopes that the darkness would just swallow him whole. His thumb, however, kept rubbing over the slim echo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, yes, the title is an actual line Claptrap says in the pre-sequel


	3. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Rhys got a call he didn't expect to be given a job opportunity and a gun at his dick.

Not once was there a single text or call. Rhys found himself lying in the bathtub for the second time that slow Thursday afternoon, swiping through the echo in his flesh hand while his cybernetic arm hung on a rack nearby. Ever since last Saturday when he left Jack’s house in an embarrassed rush Rhys hadn’t heard from the man since. The coat he ‘borrowed’ still hung in his closet along with the pants that were too big for him, both freshly wash and in mint condition. Vaughn couldn’t wrap his head around the whole situation and to this day he kept asking questions. He set the echo down on the floor and started slumping further down into the bubbles, Rhys angrily huffing out against the still water.

Why did he care if the man got ahold of him? It was him who got Rhys into this mess in the first place. Ever since the incident, Rhys has been having constant headaches and a bruise on his left cheek, the black eye around his eye healing up a bit too quickly for normal. He lifted both bare feet up just a tad so his toes peeked out from the water and his upper half started slipping under the water more. Why did he care about anything this ‘Jack’ person did or was? Who gave a flying skag shit if he lived in one of the richest areas in Pandora, owned clothes from famous designers even millionaires couldn’t afford or had a really annoying CL4P-TP companion? Rhys didn’t even care when his whole head was submerged underwater, both eyes squeezing shut and bubbles rising up to the surface. Why did he care?

That’s when the echo began making noise, Rhys’s head shooting up from the water and air rushing into his lungs. He didn’t even have time to compose himself, Loader Bot entering his bathroom and grabbing the beeping device.

“There is a message sent by an unknown number,” the bot said in a monotone voice, Rhys using his arm to grab a nearby towel. Lying the white cloth over his flat hair, he sat up in the tub and started to slowly dry his hair off. “They said they’ll be calling you,” just when he finished speaking the echo started ringing, Rhys letting out a surprised yelp and ducking back underwater. The towel floated over the bubbles, soaking up some water and shadowing his face. “Rhys?”

“What if it’s him? Oh god, I really didn’t think this through,” Rhys poked only half his head up and each word making the water rumble a bit, the brunette rubbing some bubbles off his face. Loader Bot stood there, his one red eye flickering with unsaid words that Rhys knew were nothing except sass. “Just… Answer it- make sure they don’t see me in the tub!” He quickly added the last part, Loader Bot raising the echo up so when he answered all that the other side could see was his head and some of his bare shoulders. Luckily for Rhys it was not Jack, but it still didn’t soothe his nerves when he realized that the person who did call was a pretty woman. The look of shock that crossed her face seemed to conclude that she didn’t get the memo about Jack’s ‘borrowed’ echo. Awkwardly waving a hand, Rhys scratched his cheek and slowly slipped towards his other towels. “Uh… Hi there?”

“You aren’t Jack,” _way to point out the obvious_ , he thought and grabbed a larger towel for his bare body. Pulling the plug, Rhys couldn’t help cringing when the water made noise when being drained out. “Who are you?” She flicked up her fedora and leaned forward, face growing closer to the echo. Instinctively Rhys sank deeper into the tub as if protecting his personal space and hiding his already hidden naked body. “Are you like his new PA or something?”

“Yeah… You could say that,” lying about his identity was so easy when she practically answered all the questions for him. Loader Bot spun the echo around and Rhys used this short chance to hop out, wrap himself in the towel, sit on the tub’s rim, and start hooking his cybernetic arm to it’s socket. “Who are you?” He added more emphasis on the words, Loader Bot spinning back towards Rhys as the woman rolled her eyes.

“I’ll call you later when you aren’t so busy-”

“No, wait, I’m not busy!” Rhys couldn’t help the bit of fear that slipped. His curiosity was becoming unbearable and she was the only one who could answer his nagging questions. He was a bit surprised when the woman clicked her tongue, taking her hat off and spinning it around.

“I know you aren’t Jack’s PA so cut the crap. Who really are you?” Her words were calm, but Rhys could practically see the threat hidden behind her words. Swallowing away the lump in his throat, he decided to just answer truthfully in fear that those unsaid threats may become real.

“Rhys,” the mention of his name made her eyebrow raise. “My name is Rhys and no it’s not like Reece’s Pieces,” he cringed at the horrible college nickname he had. “I work for a smaller Hyperion branch off-”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Rhys couldn’t help noticing her eyes flick away from the call for a few seconds. When his ECHOeye flipped online to show that the connection with his arm was established he began going through the normal process of performing simple tasks until the connection was stable. “Look, Rhys, I’ve got a business proposition for you. How would you like to meet up?”

“I don’t even know your name.” He pointed out, using his dry towel to dry off his face and resting his cybernetic hand on the tub.

“Tomorrow at lunch sound good?” She just completely ignored him and before Rhys could even mention that he had work she shook her head. “Alright, I’ll see you on the Westbank. The bar Moxxi’s should work out just fine. I’ll see you then.” That was it. Without another word she ended the call, Rhys left sitting there with a splitting headache and jumbled thoughts. She hadn’t even given him her name.

* * *

 

The entire Western Side of Pandora was being controlled by the gang called Bandits and the gang wasn’t fond of newcomers or people from the Eastern Hyperion controlled side. So, when Rhys and Vaughn parked the car outside Moxxi’s and walked up to the bar both were beyond terrified. Not only did they look out of place with their dress shirts and acted out of place with their eyes shooting all over, but it seemed that anyone passing by could just tell straight off that these two were foreigners and gave them hostile looks. Entering bar only made things worse, practically everyone ending their conversations short to look them over and Rhys could hear Vaughn audibly swallow. A single hand shot up over all the heads, Rhys taking Vaughn’s arm and the two walking towards the hand.

Rhys soon came across the table that sat the woman from his call, an arm draped over the booth’s back and legs crossed. She was prettier and more threatening in person, her green eyes shooting daggers into his soul and her lips curled into a spine shivering smile.

“Glad you could make it, Rhys. I’m Fiona by the way and this here is my sister, Sasha.” Just then Rhys realized another woman was there who he was introduced to as Sasha, she having a more relaxed look than her sister and constantly messing with her hair.

“Hi to you both. I’m-” he remembered they both knew his name and mentally punched himself. “This is Vaughn.” Quickly fixing his mistake, Rhys gestured towards Vaughn who awkwardly waved at the two pretty women who only gave him curt nods. Sliding in beside Vaughn, the two sat down across the others and Fiona leaned forward with folded hands.

“So, about that business proposition,” when a waiter came over for drinks, which really surprised Rhys he wasn’t used to bar waiters, Fiona ordered herself an odd drink called a ‘Vault’ that Sasha joined in on. Not really knowing the menu, Rhys ordered himself one as well that left Vaughn ordering a water. A simple, plain glass of water that Rhys couldn’t blame him for after their last incident with alcohol. “Hyperion doesn’t pay their subunits equally and the ones who do get all the money work in the main office. By accepting my deal I can get you transferred to Hyperion’s main office to whatever department of your choosing. It would be a fairly average position, nothing too special.”

“What’s the catch?” Their drinks soon came over and Rhys suspiciously eyed the tall glasses handed over. It was full of purple and blue liquid that held gold flakes all through the drink, a sliced orange hanging from the rim and gold salt lining the rim. When Fiona took a sip from the straw and Sasha practically drowned the entire thing Rhys hesitantly followed suit, blinking rapidly when he realized just how good this thing was. “Holy shit this is good. Vaughn, you have to try this.” Vaughn raised both hands to try and refuse but soon failed when the straw was practically forced into his mouth. When the first sip was taken the three couldn’t help smiling off the professional tension floating around when Vaughn flagged their waiter back down, ordering a drink of his own.

“I just want you to get a few… Answers from the company for us,” Fiona gestured towards Sasha who only shrugged, slurping up the rest of her drink and ordering another. “I have this flash drive here,” while speaking she raised up a flash drive just the size of his pinkie. “This bad boy will do all the work for me. Depending on how high up the Hyperion ranks you can get the more pay.”

“What are you looking for?” Rhys sent her a calm look, just showing her that he wasn’t gonna fall for the pretty words and a hint of extra pay. “Because you do know that the moment that flash drive goes in there I’m signing my own death wish.”

“You already have the pen in your hand,” he heard a faint click rise up from under the table. Sweat was rolling down the back of Vaughn’s neck, Sasha leaning forward on the table as both sisters held a pistol towards the men. “Look, I can tell you and your friend are good people. It was a dead give away. But the questions are becoming a little… Too much. So, we can do this the easy way,” Fiona rolled her eyes down towards the flash drive on the table. “Or we can do this the hard way.” Her pistol pressed further against his knee cap, sliding past his pants and directing itself more towards his crotch.

“Rhys…” Vaughn gave him a pleading look and guilt washed over the male. This was his fault. If he had just thrown away that fucking echo the moment he found it this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

“Too long.” Before she could pull the trigger her echo began ringing, Fiona using her free hand to answer her echo.

“Hello? Yes, I’m busy right now- no, August, listen I’m- what? When?” Sasha sent her a questioning look, Fiona shaking her head. “Alright alright. What do you mean we have no inside men? What about- damn it,” that’s when she remembered the two men sitting in their own sweat, both praying to some entity above that this would not be their last moments. “You know what? I think I got our mole. I’ll have Sasha send the details to you later,” with that she hung up, the device clanking on the table and the brunette leaning back on the booth. “Good news, you get to keep your dicks.”

“What?”

“This Sunday Hyperion is holding an event and I want you to go. Make a nice impression on them you know before work on Monday that way you can slip in without being questioned as much,” Rhys could feel the anger boiling up inside himself. Despite having a pistol currently aimed directly at his fucking dick, Rhys wanted to just strangle the smug brunette who thought she was all that. “Sound good?”

“Oh-” he was cut off by Vaughn’s hand clamping over his open mouth, the accountant shakily chuckling and shooting his best friend a dark look.

“Sounds good? That sounds great!” Vaughn grabbed the black flash drive on the table and slipped it into Rhys’s hoodie pocket, patting the cloth with a shaky laugh following. “You have Rhys’s echo, right? Great! Well, oh god, look at the time! We really should get going. Nice chat!” Grabbing his jacket off the cushion, Vaughn forced Rhys out from his spot and dragged him outside the bar. When the two were outside and away from all the people Rhys couldn’t take it anymore.

“What the fuck, bro? What do we do?” He ran both hands through his hair, tugging at the strands and letting out all his concealed emotions. Vaughn was reacting similarly, glasses off and using his shirt to wipe the already clean lenses.

“I… Comply? Bro, we are dealing with gangsters right now. Goddamn gangsters and they don’t talk clean. I hate stereotyping, but I mean the pistol at our dicks explained enough,” the shorter man let out a strained sigh escape his lips, patting Rhys’s back and the two walking towards their car. “I’ll call Yvette later to help get you an outfit,” scratching his flesh arm’s palm, Rhys started to walk with more speed than meant and reached the car before Vaughn. He slipped in silently, sitting in the passenger’s seat with his mind whirling. “You ok?”

“We’ll see after Sunday,” there was grime tone to his words, Rhys rolling his head over towards Vaughn who focused on starting the car up. He was obviously stressed out, the accountant having lost his job not too long ago. Even though Rhys hated to admit it he really needed the money so maybe betraying his company wouldn’t be so bad. “One things for certain; when I get the money I’m fixing our car.” He gestured towards the piece of shit vehicle the two sat in, the car just now barely starting up. His comment made Vaughn shakily chuckle under his breath, a heavy silence falling over them both all the way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, Rhys reminds me waaaay too much of a teenage girl but don't worry it doesn't last long


	4. Talk fancy and you'll blend in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys realizes that escaping assholes is next to impossible when you decide to hook up with an asshole.

Saying that Rhys felt good was just an understatement. He stood there by the sleek black sports car provided by Sasha, fixing his navy blue blazer and letting his ECHOeye scan every person that passed by him, literally living the dream. Despite the death threat hanging over his head his number one dream has finally come true and for once Rhys felt important. Rich people from the five leading companies on Pandora gave him approving looks and people of both genders looked him up and down, a few women waving towards him. 

Tonight he wasn’t some low scum of the planet who was having financial issues and was having his life threatened. No, tonight he was someone of importance and if Rhys wasn’t gonna bask in that then he’d be an idiot. Locking up his car, Rhys double checked with Loaderbot that all his cybernetics were in working order and started following the crowd into the outdoor Hyperion led event. 

This good feeling was soured immediately when his roaming eyes fell upon Fiona, but he would be lying if he said she didn’t look nice. The elegant red dress actually suited her, hair nicely styled and some makeup actually applied as well. She caught his eye and excused herself from the men that were chatting with her, Rhys swallowing down a lump in his throat when one of the men he recognized as the district mayor of district Sanctuary; Roland.

The man didn’t even look his way and instead he was being led off by a red haired woman who took his arm in hers. Rhys practically had his mouth gaping open when he recognized the woman as Lilith, a famous singer from the two person band  _ The Sirens _ . Vaughn is gonna freak when he hears about this. Fiona soon reached Rhys and shot him a look that he only narrowed his eyes at, the woman passing a champagne glass to Rhys she took from a waiter’s plate.

“Glad to see you took the outfit,” Rhys could still remember just how shocked Vaughn was when he saw the suit on the couch, unable to understand why she’d pay so much money just for this event. Just because he worked in a side company for Hyperion with a very low position didn’t mean he had bad suits. Ok, a few of them had rips and needed mending, but he had one that would’ve worked... If it didn’t have a banana print. He still blamed Yvette for buying it on Christmas last year. “Our target arrived not too long ago. See the douchebag sucking up to Henderson?” Fiona was looking towards his right so Rhys followed her gaze, his jaw locking when he found the person he was gonna swindle. “His-”

“I know who he is,” he said through gritted teeth. “Hugo Vasquez. I had him in college.” Vasquez started laughing at something Henderson said, obviously kissing ass right now. Rhys stole Fiona’s drink and downed the golden liquid in one gulp, Fiona raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Anyways, try getting to his computer and get the flash drive on there. Sound good? I’ll leave you to it.” When she took a step past Rhys she gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder before mixing in with the crowd, Rhys losing sight of her. Letting out a long sigh, he took two more glasses from a waiter and made his way to Vasquez. Putting on a forced smile, he broke the formed circle and made eye contact with the bastard. Oh, this was gonna hurt his ego.

“Vasquez? Hey, long time no see!” Rhys couldn’t help the anger bubbling in his chest as the other realized his presence. “You are looking  _ great _ and I  _ love _ your hair! Is that some new hair gel? And oh my god that suit! Does wonders for you! How is the job treating you? Let me guess, you are running the company?” Compliment after compliment came from his mouth, one glass of champagne being drowned and the other still resting in his tightly held grip.

Vasquez, his ego obviously growing from all the praise he was being given, started on rambling about his boring fucking life that Rhys wanted to just drink bleach at when he heard. Time seemed to be passing by slowly even though his ECHOeye showed that an hour had passed and with every second passing the noose Rhys was tying around his neck was getting tighter and tighter. 

At this point, all he wanted to do was go run and hide away, forget all about the man who ruined four years of his life and try enjoying himself. Rhys felt his eye twitch when Vasquez patted his shoulder, moving on from bragging about himself and making fun of Rhys. Did Rhys even have any pride left? Probably not. A few others that were listening along laughed, Rhys forcing himself to laugh along as well. Of course, these douchebags would laugh when it was someone being joked about, but if it was them being made fun of things would be different. 

The temptation of punching that smug grin off Vasquez was making his fingers tingle. He already had done it once after graduation and even though it left him sitting on his bed, Vaughn holding an icepack to his bloody nose and his knuckles bleeding, the shocked look and black eye Vasquez held was worth it all.

“Remember that entire year you had braces? Holy shit that was the best! You looked like such a dweeb! Oh, what am I kidding you always look like a dweeb, right cyclops?” There was that nickname again; cyclops. It was the first thing Vasquez ever called Rhys when he saw the ECHOeye, deciding it would a great idea to point out all his insecurities in front of the whole class. “Did I ever mention how he got that nickname? During our first year-” this was the last straw. Rhys could feel his cybernetic hand curling up into a fist, the anger pumping his blood and real eye twitching a couple more times. He started reeling his arm back when a hand covered his fist, a chin resting on his shoulder.

“Ah, there you are! I’ve been looking all over for you, babe,” a smooth voice brushed past his ear and made his skin crawl with goosebumps, the other people that were laughing at Rhys now shaking in their shoes. Rhys let his eyes slowly follow the voice, stopping when they found the source. Standing right in his personal space was Jack, those heterochromatic eyes batting up at him and a smirk tugging at his lips. When the band played a new song his arm started being tugged. “C’mon let’s go dance!” 

The glass in his hand was soon drunk and passed off to a waiter, Rhys obediently following the handsome man who he fell speechless under. In his silence he started looking the older man over; Jack was wearing a simple black dress shirt, three buttons were undone to reveal some of his collarbone, and black dress pants that hugged his legs in just all the right areas including his- and why was Rhys staring at his ass?

“Uh…” That’s when he realized Jack was still holding onto his cybernetic hand, their fingers loosely tangled together. “You're holding my hand.”

“And you were allowing yourself to be publicly embarrassed. Is that like your kink or something?” Jack peered back over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised and Rhys couldn’t help mentally cursing himself out. “I think a ‘thank you’ is in order, pumpkin.”

“Thank you..?”

“Much better,” when the two entered the dance floor Jack spun around on his heel, his free hand being placed on Rhys’s hip. Before the taller man could react he was being tugged forward, their chests bumping and his feet stumbling on the grass. “So, how are the pants treating you?”

“You never called me back.” Now he sounded like some clingy teenager girl. Great.

“Sorry about that, princess. I didn’t know you were the ‘leave after being helped and expect a call’ type of person.” Okay, that hit hard, but he was absolutely correct and Rhys couldn’t be mad at that. He let out a sigh, his cheeks warming up when he felt a thumb rub against his skin under his dress shirt.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I don’t like being embarrassed.” It was a pathetic excuse, but that really was the reason why Rhys left. Now saying it out loud, besides the time with Vaughn, made him sound like an idiot.

“I thought you had a kink for embarrassment?” At this point, Jack was purposely trying to get on Rhys’s nerves and it was working.

“I only let them because-” he cut himself off before he could just completely sabotage the whole plan. The flash drive was still in his back pocket and if Jack handed that over to the CEO he would be dead. Literally dead. “I’m trying to suck up. Climb the ranks if you must.” Rhys started following Jack’s lead, giving some half assed answer and glancing around the dance floor. He saw Roland and Lilith from before dancing not too far away, the woman chatting off his ear.

“You never told me your name, princess.” Those pet names were gonna be the death of him along with those goddamn eyes he was staring into again. The green eye was putting him into some sort of ethereal trance and the blue eye was bringing him out of that trance into a world full of natural driven highs. If Rhys didn’t know any better he would’ve said that blue eye resembled his own and if his ECHOeye hadn’t so kindly scanned both eyes confirming they were both real he’d call them cybernetic.

“Rhys. My name is Rhys,” Jack raised an eyebrow at the name, Rhys familiar with the odd looks his name brought. “Your name’s Jack, right?”

“How cute. You remembered my name,” there was now a teasing tone in his tone, Rhys rolling his eyes. His attention was stolen away when Lilith punched a dude in the face and cursing him out , Roland simply slinging an arm around her waist and calming her down. “By the way what kind of name is Rhys? It’s like-”

“Reece’s Pieces. Yes, I know,” he let out an exasperated sigh, his brain randomly deciding that this was the perfect moment to start thinking of Jack’s clothes that hung in his closet. “If you want I can return your shit to you tonight.”

“Is that an invitation to your place?” Jack was holding back a laugh, Rhys’s feeling his own cheeks heat up and began facing Jack.

“No! How did you- where did that- I just- why do you- I don’t,” he started stumbling over his own words, Jack unable to hold it anymore and burst out into loud laughter. A few people angrily gave them a look, mad they just so rudely been cockblocked. When their eyes landed on a laugh Jack the color in their faces were lost and eyes diverting away. Just who was this guy? “It’s not that funny…”

“O- oh god that was priceless. Look, Rhysie, cut the pout out and calm your sweet ass down. I was just pushing your buttons,” and with that Jack poked one of Rhys’s dress shirt buttons with a shit eating grin. “Get it?” Yup, this guy was one hundred percent a fucking nerd and Rhys couldn’t help loving- he enjoyed it. “Anyways, what are you doing here? You work for one of these companies?”

“Hyperion, actually,” this made Jack perk up some more and Rhys could’ve sworn his eyes sparkled. “I just recently got promoted and I’m working in the main office now,” luckily this wasn’t all a complete lie. It was just the way he got into his future job that he had to lie around, but that couldn’t be too hard. “I’m going into the robotics department,” which he still needs to speak to Fiona about. “What about you?”

“You really don’t know?” His eyebrow, once again for like the 80th time that night, rose. “You must be dense as shit then,” this time it was muttered under Jack’s breath, Rhys still able to catch onto the words due to how close they were. “I’m-” but his words were cut off when someone drunkenly (which was weird because only champagne was being served) bumped into Rhys and spilled his drink all over his blazer.

“Goddamnit,” Rhys groaned, the drunk person rushing off before anything bad could happen. Jack let go of the taller man who shrugged off his blazer, the dirty cloth now being held in his arms. “I should go drop this off in my car,” he awkwardly gestured with his head towards the exit, suddenly remembering his deal with Fiona. Giving Jack another glance, falling deeper in some sort of trance when he stared at those lips and swallowing dryly when he imagined kissing them. “Did you… Wanna come along..? We could ditch the event- unless you don’t want to! I don’t wanna-” he stopped talking when Jack grabbed his flesh hand, tugging him through the busy crowd and the parking lot. “Guess that’s a yes.” A dumb smile crossed his smile, Rhys hanging up on Vaughn who tried calling him.

When they reached Rhys’s car the blazer was slipped into his back seat, Rhys shutting the door and turning around just in time for his body to be pinned. A pair of lips were being pressed onto his, the man quickly reacting to Jack’s kiss and kissing back with just as much force. He could taste the champagne off his lips that parted open for him and Rhys found himself getting drunk off the taste along, draping both arms around Jack’s neck. 

When a hand slipped into his back pocket Rhys pulled back from the kiss with a yelp, heart pounding from fear that the flash drive might’ve been found. Luckily the device was in the opposite pocket and, mainly for his own satisfaction, leaned back in for another kiss that was happily received.

“Wanna head to my place?” His voice sounded deeper, the two breaking apart from their kiss just briefly. Rhys tried leaning back in, but Jack pulled back teasingly.

“Y- yeah.” Nodding, Rhys cleared his throat when Jack moved so he could hop in the driver’s seat. Starting up the car and following the other’s directions seemed to be taking a lifetime, Rhys unable to stop his hands from clammy up in excitement. Just a few days ago he was cursing this man out, wishing that they had never met, but now here he was leaving his car and making out with someone in an elevator just wishing this night would never end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, i'm alive  
> i probably should've mentioned before that i have a tumblr (here is some shameless self-advertising lol) so... yeah if you got any questions about the AU or things just hit me up here: [TheHobbitSenpai](http://thehobbitsenpai.tumblr.com/)


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